I recently bought the book "A Way of a Pilgrim" ( and it's sequel "A Pilgrim continues his Way"). What a wonderful book it is. It is an autobiography of an anonymous 33 year old Russian man who learns the art of continuous remembrance of God.
He does this by continuously repeating in his heart, the Jesus prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". He learns how to do this from his spiritual master ("Starets") of the Greek/Eastern Orthodox church. He is asked to use a rosary initially, and advised later to repeat the prayer with every breath. With time, he discovers that the prayer repeats itself effortlessly in his heart, and he experiences the bliss of the Presence of God.
He gains inspiration in his prayer and meditation from The Philokalia, a sublime book of spiritual teachings given by Saints of the Eastern Orthodox church. These spiritual masters lived ascetic lives on Mount Athos in ancient Greece, and the teachings were compiled into a book in the 8th century. He learns the secret of "interior prayer" or direct experience of Christ/God through the guidence of his Teacher and the book.
The book is inspiring because it shows how an ordinary man transforms himself from a simple seeker into a man who experiences spiritual truth for himself. He says practice of prayer is most important- reading is good if it inspires practice.
I am still halfway through reading this book and am so glad to have discovered it. It is an inspiration for anyone wishing to learn the art of ceaseless remembrance of God.
Salutations to the great Spiritual Masters of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
I am struck by how similar their teachings are to those of all other mystical traditions. It goes to show that Truth is One. And that it cannot be bound down or constrained by any number of "isms" or "religions" or dogmas. Not by Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Zoroastrianism. All the "isms" contain Truth in them, and the heart of the Teachings is clearly the same.
Prostrations to all the great Spiritual Teachers of all traditions who have always taught humanity the same thing- to love each other and love God. It is humans who have confused themselves with dogmas and ended up fighting in the name of religion. It is good to see that increasingly the 'different' religions are beginning to respect each other.
Hope we can all discover the secrets of "interior prayer" as the Pilgrim did.
Hari Om Tat Sat
He does this by continuously repeating in his heart, the Jesus prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me". He learns how to do this from his spiritual master ("Starets") of the Greek/Eastern Orthodox church. He is asked to use a rosary initially, and advised later to repeat the prayer with every breath. With time, he discovers that the prayer repeats itself effortlessly in his heart, and he experiences the bliss of the Presence of God.
He gains inspiration in his prayer and meditation from The Philokalia, a sublime book of spiritual teachings given by Saints of the Eastern Orthodox church. These spiritual masters lived ascetic lives on Mount Athos in ancient Greece, and the teachings were compiled into a book in the 8th century. He learns the secret of "interior prayer" or direct experience of Christ/God through the guidence of his Teacher and the book.
The book is inspiring because it shows how an ordinary man transforms himself from a simple seeker into a man who experiences spiritual truth for himself. He says practice of prayer is most important- reading is good if it inspires practice.
I am still halfway through reading this book and am so glad to have discovered it. It is an inspiration for anyone wishing to learn the art of ceaseless remembrance of God.
Salutations to the great Spiritual Masters of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
I am struck by how similar their teachings are to those of all other mystical traditions. It goes to show that Truth is One. And that it cannot be bound down or constrained by any number of "isms" or "religions" or dogmas. Not by Hinduism, Buddhism, Sufism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Zoroastrianism. All the "isms" contain Truth in them, and the heart of the Teachings is clearly the same.
Prostrations to all the great Spiritual Teachers of all traditions who have always taught humanity the same thing- to love each other and love God. It is humans who have confused themselves with dogmas and ended up fighting in the name of religion. It is good to see that increasingly the 'different' religions are beginning to respect each other.
Hope we can all discover the secrets of "interior prayer" as the Pilgrim did.
Hari Om Tat Sat
Namo Narayana Vishnupriyaji,
ReplyDeleteI feel very humbled and blessed to have found your blog. I Only just found it the other day but I am making my way through all of your writings.
They really are inspiring me to plod along this path of Mantra sadhana, Sometimes its drudgery indeed, but reading that you and others are out there plodding along too, experiencing similar joys and obstacles, makes me feel like I am not the only crazy soul seeking God.
I have chosen Sri Swami Sivananda as my Guru and guide to help me out of this entangled web, because I resonated with his teachings and the example he set. Swami Chidananda also inspires me very much, the way he writes is so kind but inspiring.
Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me to make contact with a Swami at Sivananda ashram in Rishikesh, so that I may be able to receive guidance in my sadhana. Whom do I speak with? I want to begin a purascharana too and would like some help. Swami Sivananda has left much wisdom on this subject, and you have clarified it nicely, but I feel I would like help from a living master. Do you think this is possible?
I would be forever indebted for any wisdom or help you can share with me.
Thank you for holding the light and shining it so brightly for the rest of us to follow towards the masters.
Many thanks, Hari Om Tat Sat
Rishi
Namo Narayana Rishiji,
DeleteThank you for the kind comments. And importantly, thank you for the honesty in saying that the spiritual path does indeed feel like 'drudgery' at times. Many people like to only talk about the elevating side of spiritual life....but of course the truth is that there absolutely is a very painful side to it too.... and it's good to honestly acknowledge that rather than suppress those feelings as we can handle them better that way.
Am very pleased to hear you are contemplating doing a purascharana. That is fantastic news. We need more people to do mantra recitation, I always say, especially given the turmoil in the world today. Every person's mantra japa practice surely contributes to strengthening the divine elements in the world today and countering the negative elements that are on the rise.
Regarding your question about who at the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh to consult for advice on doing a purascharana, I would suggest Swami Padmanabhananda, the current General Secretary. He is around 80 years old and has been a monk for a few decades at the Ashram. He is a very kind and humorous person even though he appears externally rather stern at times.
He would be very pleased to hear that you wish to do a purascharana and I'm sure would be more than happy to advise you. Do feel free to email him (general secretary email is available on the Sivananda website) or even telephone/arrange to meet with him.
Do let me know how you get on with your purascharana. Just as you have kindly said that this blog inspires you to plod on on the spiritual path, I too feel that the friendly words of fellow spiritual seekers such as yourself inspire me greatly. Just knowing that others are also doing purascharana is inspiring for me.
The spiritual path is a lonely one at times and it is nice to cross paths with fellow souls on the same journey and wave at each other (metaphorically speaking).
Good luck with your sadhana friend, may God and Guru bless you always.
Vishnupriya
Hari Om Vishnupriyaji,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind and helpful reply. It really does feel good to know there are others I can speak with on the same Journey.
Its really inspiring for me to read your blog and listen to your stories of balancing work life as a doctor, married life with your Husband, and then going in to battle asuras in the depths of your mind during your japa sessions.
Yeah you are right, its very rare that people talk about the real struggles when one undertakes a serious sadhana, it can be a real whirlwind. I have been doing some large amounts of daily japa and its amazing the old hurts and disturbances that come up from the heart!
A lot of the time people just pretend they are in a state of bliss while they meditate, but thats certainly not my reality, although sometimes comes a taste of bliss ;).
I sent an email through to the General Secretary at Rishikesh, I really hope that he replies and offers me some help. Its really nice to know an experienced master has your back, especially someone that has resided for so long with some great saints.
Ji, i would like to know your thoughts on my current Sadhana, just because I don't really have anyone else to share this with...
Each morning I chant ...
1 mala of Mahamrityunjaya Mantra ( for all those unwell and suffering in the world)
1 mala of Gayatri ( for spiritual light, wisdom and upliftment of the world)
1 mala of Mahamantra ( i just love this mantra)
then 15 mins asana
15 mins pranayama
15 mins of my guru mantra
then i just chant guru mantra for the rest of the day in my head
The other day whilst meditating I had this nice vision that I will share with you..
We are all lost souls floating on the ocean of material existence. Gods grace is always there ready to save us, like the wind blowing over us. But very rarely do we take up the offer of his grace. But when we take to chanting the name, any of his names, it is like we are putting up sails and suddenly this grace of god fills our sails and begins to carry us across this ocean of material madness... as soon as we stop chanting/remembering, we lose momentum and float aimlessly again. As soon as we call on his name, up go the sails and we continue on our journey towards the shores of transcendental bliss....
It was a nice vision...
Thank you for sharing your journey so selflessly, I don't usually read blogs nor comment on them but yours is an exception and I feel Swamiji lead me nicely to your words for inspiration. So thank you :)
By the way, Do you live in India or elsewhere in the world?
I am in a kiwi from New Zealand.
Om Namah Shivaya Ji
Rishi
Hari Om Rishiji,
DeleteGlad to hear you have emailed Swamiji....I agree it's nice to get advice from experienced people who have practiced sadhana for decades...
Thank you for sharing your vision - it's very nice and does feel accurate. I agree the name of God is a sail that uplifts us.....if only our minds would be spontaneously attracted to this....such hard work for us to direct our minds to God throughout the daily madness of our lives...may God help us in this tremendous task...
I think your sadhana sounds really good. I really like all those three mantras you mentioned (and chant/sing them a little too). Nice to hear of your selfless chanting for the world....have no doubt that this is having a positive effect to somewhat mitigate the problems we face today.
Just an additional point on the MahaMrityunjaya mantra- Swami Sivananda used to say (aside from being a moksha mantra), this mantra wards off premature death by accident/injury etc..... and his disciple Swami Vishnudevananda (who brought his message to the West) used to advocate chanting this a few times at the start of any journey by rail/road/air etc. I do therefore chant this mantra 3 times when starting my drive to and from work and feels it has protected me in a few scary situations on the road...
Nice to hear you live in beautiful New Zealand. I am based in Europe for many years now though grew up in India.
Om Namah Shivaya.
Vishnupriya